Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Casey the pug, Post-Op.

Just spoke with Kristina, Casey's foster mom - who just hung up with the surgeon, Dr. Plante.

The next 24 hours are crucial. Casey is now in ICU, and needs to stay there for the next several days having her blood constantly monitored.

The surgeon said, like most dogs with shunts, her liver was tiny ( a result of no blood flow going to the organ to nourish it and help it grow). To give you some dimension of size, it was comparable to the size of a puppy's liver in the womb.

Fortunately, the liver is an organ that can regenerate. A biopsy of the liver was taken, which will tell us if Casey's liver is healthy enough to regenerate. Results of that in a few days.

If the body reacts as we hope, the shunt will eventually close and allow blood to flow through the liver. Actually, here is a good diagram which shows a liver shunt and how the blood bypasses the liver. When the shunt is sealed off, the blood flow can return to the liver.

So - 3 things:

1. IMMEDIATE: How she fares in the next 24 hours2. A FEW DAYS: The biopsy results3. EVENTUALLY: The liver shunt closing

The surgeon said Casey is alert as can be expected. But this is major surgery and her recovery will not be immediate. In terms of surgical expertise - she was in the very best of hands - and remains so through her recovery. She still needs your good vibes and positive thoughts to help her get through the worst of it.

Everyone - thank you for keeping tabs on Casey's story. This day and this surgery would never have happened without each and every one of you caring enough to make a donation. Who knows what might have happened to this little dog? She might still be homeless - perhaps by now euthanized - or slowly dying somewhere under someone's front porch.

I remain humbled and amazed at how you spread the word and how you gave this puppy a chance to live. You guys are awesome. Thank you is not enough.